


How it all Begins...

by ZpanSven



Series: Carrie Allen is the Flash [2]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014), The Flash - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Always a Different Sex, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Gen, Gender or Sex Swap, Genderbending, In which Barry is a Girl, Rule 63, Unrequited Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-25
Updated: 2015-05-03
Packaged: 2018-03-25 16:10:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 8,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3816685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZpanSven/pseuds/ZpanSven
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Some people have the worst luck. Carrie Allen's generally manifested in being perpetually late. And then she got hit by a bolt of red lightning...and that's not the worst of it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Edited: 09.01.2015

STAR Labs wasn't a medical facility.

 

There _were_ labs dedicated to the development of medical advancements, but it wasn't designed or meant to house patients. But in the aftermath of the particle accelerator explosion, they did have a patient.

 

She looked so small laying there in the hospital bed, connected to all those machines, even with the fact she was tall for a woman. Perhaps it was how pale she was, how young she was.

 

At almost twenty-five, Carrie Allen had a remarkable life for one her age. She had seen her mother murdered by something she didn't understand, had witnessed her father put in jail for the murder he hadn't committed. It was this that set her on her path for chasing the impossible as well as going into forensic sciences from a young age.

 

When other girls had been obsessing over hair and makeup, she had her nose in a book, studying, always forever studying. That dedication had helped her graduate High School and begin College at a young age.

 

Now she worked at the some police department that had arrested her father; the tall, awkward girl who was forever late but also _exceedingly_ good at her job.

 

That and her foster father Detective Joe West were probably the only reasons she kept her job, especially after her stunt of going to Starling City in search for the urban legend called the Hood. Or Arrow. Depending who you asked.

 

But now, the life that had been going forward at full speed...had stopped.

 

On the fateful night her hero and idol Dr Harrison Wells had activated the particle accelerator, a thunder storm had rolled in. And then unexpectedly, there had been an explosion from STAR Labs, followed by a crimson lightning bolt coming through the leaking skylight of her lab, striking her in the chest.

 

And now...she was _here_. In the hospital bed that they set up in one of the many small labs of STAR Labs.

 

In a coma.

 

Just because she had been struck by the lightning didn’t mean she had lost _complete_ awareness, though she probably wouldn't remember most of it when she woke up.

 

As it was, she drifted in and out, though not enough to fully awaken during her coma.

 

Sometimes she could hear Joe talking to her.

 

Other times it was Iris or Felicity.

 

Sometimes there were others there - she recognized Diggle’s gruff voice, occasionally it was Oliver or Roy.

 

Every now and then she heard the voice of her idol Dr Wells.

 

She could never make out what they were saying though. At times she thought she felt a hand brushing back her hair or a press of lips against her own or on her forehead. Other times she had the feeling of her hand being held or someone – Iris? - crying on her shoulder.

 

Not that she'd remember it.

 

Though now, she was starting to wake up, slowly rising up from the tranquil nothingness of the coma...

 

She wouldn't be waking up to the familiarity of the faces or voices of her family and friends.

 

Right now though she was hearing...Poker Face by Lady Gaga?

 

No those voices didn’t sound like Iris or Joe or anyone else she knew. Someone - a guy, young maybe her age if his voice was anything to go by - mentioned her Facebook account. She didn’t know that voice...or the woman who replied.

 

_Who were these people?_

 

Abruptly she bolted upright, the sheets pooling around her waist her vision rapidly clearing. It was amazing what adrenaline could do for the system. “Where am I?”

 

“She’s up!” The guy was staring at her with wide, shocked brown eyes. He was around her height, his shoulder-length black hair framing his round, kind face. The clothing he wore was casual, a nerd shirt like many she herself owned and a pair of comfortable jeans and sneakers.

 

“Doctor Wells---” The rest of what he was saying was inaudible, a woman – wearing a lab coat, a doctor? - shinning a penlight in her eyes while rattling off Carrie’s pulse rate and other vitals. Auburn hair, styled with a casual elegance that Carrie normally envied, matched by her professional yet feminine clothing.

 

Carrie jerked back away from the light and the unknown woman, who had long auburn hair and intense green eyes. What was going on? The last clear memory she had was--

 

\--the red lightning bolt.

 

Coming through the leaking skylight at the lab, hitting her right in the chest--

 

How had she survived that? Where _was_ she anyway? This wasn’t the hospital, she concluded, looking around with wild blue eyes. She scrambled, trying to climb from the bed, the words of the woman and guy dim in her ears as they tried to calm her.

 

“Easy, easy! You’re in STAR Labs,” the guy told her.

 

Well _that_ caught her attention! Her head snapped about to stare at him – standing she found he was maybe an inch or two shorter than she. His dark eyes were certainly earnest...

 

“STAR Labs?” she echoed. “What? Why? Who are you?”

 

“I’m Cisco Ramon-” He gestured to himself, and then to the female doctor, “and she’s Caitlin - Dr Snow.”

 

“I need you to urinate in this.” There was a specimen cup shoved under Carrie’s nose by the pretty, petite older woman.

 

Thankfully the guy calling himself Cisco took it away from the woman - Dr Snow - telling her not that moment. Automatically Carrie liked this guy. No one should shove those in people’s faces, especially not when they were as confused as she was already.

 

“As for why....you got struck by lightning.”

 

Well she knew that much...she could still see that red lightning bolt even when she closed her eyes.

 

Confused she turned away from them and saw a monitor...that was showing her belly, exposed by the short camisole top she wore.

 

\---when did she have abs like _that_?!

 

“....lightning....gave me **abs**....?” she said in confusion, lifting a hand to touch her stomach in disbelief. She’d _never_ had abs before, not even when she did those gymnastic classes with Iris back in middle school.

 

Dr Snow came around, gently prodding Carrie’s slender and strangely toned arms. “Your muscles should have atrophied but instead are in a state of some form of chronic, heightened cellular regeneration----”

 

Cisco guided her away from the confusion that was Dr Snow. “Come over here. Sit down.”

 

Oh thank God, someone who talked common sense... She started to sink down on the edge of the bed.

 

“Look...you were in a coma...”

 

 **Nope**! She was back up on her feet. “What?! For how long?!”

 

“For nine months.” It was not a voice she had been expecting to hear, one she knew well because of how much she admired the person who spoke - Dr Wells.

 

Carrie whirled around to see that the doors to the room she was open and in a motorized wheelchair was...Dr Wells? She stared at him in confusion, blinking at him with a poleaxed expression on her face, her hair sticking out in a hellacious case of bedhead. Shivering faintly, she abruptly feeling very cold and exposed in the thin cotton camisole and boy shorts she had been dressed in.

 

What on Earth was going on? What had happened when the Particle Accelerator malfunctioned?

 

...she was in her underwear in front of her idol. Her crush. A dark blush crawled up her body, from her belly, up under the camisole, to her hair line. Subconsciously her arms came up, reflexively crossing before her in embarrassment. Oh God, why didn’t that damn lightning bolt just kill her?

 

“Welcome back, Ms Allen.” He was smiling, his blue eyes glinting behind his glasses. Maybe he wasn’t noticing the fact she was in her underwear. And blushing. Or if he _did_ , he was politely ignoring that. “We have much to discuss.”

 

The most undignified of whimpers escaped her.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

At least they had some clothes she could wear along with some privacy to dress.

Alright, sure it was a pair of STAR Labs sweats probably from a gift shop or something but it was better than walking around in underwear, especially in front of Dr Wells!

 

Thank God for that small dignity. It was as she was pulling the sweat pants on that she noticed several changes to her body aside form the lightning-granted abs. Her attention had been caught by the faded scar between her breasts…was that from the lightning strike…?

Wait a minute—

“…what the hell happened to my breasts?” she whispered in dismay, still looking down the camisole top. She had only be a modest B-cup but now they looked smaller than before…

…and her butt, it was…bigger? More muscular, for certain, along with her legs…

…wait, if she’d been in a coma for nine months then why was her legs and…other areas…smooth, like she’d just been waxed?

“Dr Snow!” she called for the lady doctor. This was getting all sorts of weird and creepy, dammit!

With how fast she entered, Dr Snow had apparently waiting for the invitation to come in. “Call me Caitlin, Carrie. Its alright if I call you Carrie?”

“Its fine,” the younger scientist hand-waved. “I…its just…have you guys been um…shaving me or something during my coma…?”

“No,” she shook her head before pushing stray hair back behind her ear. “Like with the way your muscles didn’t atrophy…there were other effects to your body. You’ve lost almost all your body hair…except for what’s connected to your scalp, eyelashes, and eyebrows. Also…well I don’t know how heavy your menstrual cycle was before so I don’t know if its a big change for you…”

“…it varied - anywhere between five to eight days,” Carrie replied, feeling lightheaded.

“I see…during the coma, your first period lasted a day and a half. The next went down to a day…and progressively has wavered between ten hours to twenty-four. They were extremely heavy, we had to move you from the bed into a tub. You bled through layers of pads in moments.”

“….will….will this have an impact on if I….want a…a family….?” her voice was small. Carrie had wanted a family of her own some day, when her life was stable - a husband, a bunch of kids, a nice house, the entire American Dream….

“….I don’t know,” Caitlin’s hand was reassuring on her shoulder. “We didn’t run any tests concerning fertility…but we can. And I’m certain we can figure out a way, in due time.”

She wanted to cry.

She was only twenty-four - or was that twenty-five now? - and now there was a chance she could never have a baby of her own someday? What man would want to marry her? Her dating pool was slim to none already but now—

She now really wished that lightning bolt had killed her.


	3. Chapter 3

“How are you feeling, Ms Allen?”

Dr Wells’ voice jerked her from her daze and she looked down at him. Down...she never thought she’d look down at the scientist she idolized. Why was he in the chair....? She burned to ask the questions but refrained. Instead she hugged herself tighter.

“...it’s...hard to believe I’m actually here.” she murmured as they moved through the corridor. “I had always wanted to meet you....but not like this....”

“Well you certainly went through a great length to get here, Ms Allen. STAR Labs has not been operational since FEMA categorized us as a Class 4 hazardous location,” he explained as they moved past what looked like a destroyed cage; she barely spared it a glance, Dr Wells dominating her attention. “Seventeen people died that night. Many more were injured...myself amongst them.”

The stopped at a railing and carefully she scooted over, peering over it to the wreckage below. “...oh my God...”

She turned, looking at him. “What happened?”

“Nine months ago, the particle accelerator went online - exactly as planned. For exactly forty-five minutes, my life’s dream was accomplished...and then...” he paused and continued. “..and then there was an anomaly. The electron volts became immeasurable and the ring beneath us popped..and the energy from the detonation was thrown up into the sky. And that in turn seeded the storm cloud above--”

She looked up at the sky as he was speaking and then at him, finishing his sentence. “--that created the lightning bolt...that red lightning bolt...that struck me...”

“That’s right,” he nodded. His blue eyes were so intense and she shivered faintly; it was like he could see right into her soul... “I was recovering myself, when I had heard about you, Ms Allen.”

Her eyes widened, the blush that had been subsiding returning full force. Of course, he heard about her as she was dying and pathetic...God her luck was so shitty...

“The hospital was having unexplained power outages every time you went into cardiac arrest which was a misdiagnosis. Because you see, you weren’t flat-lining, Carrie--” she squeaked softly; he used her name, her actual name-- “Your heart was going too fast for the EKG to even register it.”

The continued onward in the walk as he kept speaking; they had returned to the room in which she had awakened. “Now, I’m not the most popular person around town these days but...Detective West and his daughter did give me permission to move you here...” Dr Wells gestured to the medical bed she had woken on, “...where we stabilized you.”

“Iris,” Carrie supplied him her foster sister’s name.

“Iris? Yes, I believe that was her name. She came to see you quite often. In fact, you had many guests come by."

“She talks a lot,” Caitlin said as she approached, passing Dr Wells a glass of water.

“She’s also very hot. Is she single?” Cisco asked Carrie hopefully.

“I...its been nine months, I wouldn’t know...” Carrie stuttered before frowning. “I...Has anyone called Iris or Joe, let them know I woke up?”

“Ahh...noooo....” Cisco coughed sheepishly; even Caitlin looked chagrined.

“Its been a bit hectic since you popped up like that...”

“Then I have to go. I have to see my family...” She was making a beeline for the exit.

“No wait, you can’t!” Caitlin was following her.

“Caitlin’s right,” Dr Wells agreed; his tone was commanding and as she paused, Carrie could swore her insides quivered. “Now that you are awake we need to run more tests. You’re still going through changes - there’s so much we don’t know.”

She faltered. “I...I feel alright...and I’ll be back...I just...need to see them, let them know I’m alright... I mean...I feel normal enough right now...”

“Really?” Caitlin looked skeptical. She’d seen the look on the younger woman’s face when told she might not be able to have children.

“Really. I...thank you so much for saving my life. I just have to go see Iris and Joe. I’ll be back, so you can run more tests.” she shifted awkwardly and asked bashfully. “...canIkeepthesweatshirt?”

Dr Wells’ lips quirked; at least she promised to come back. “You can keep the sweatshirt. You’ll need a ride, at least. Caitlin, why don’t you take her to see her family?”

Carrie brightened immediately. “Oh thank you, I...don’t have cab fare...”


	4. Chapter 4

After a brief stop at the West home so she could change from the sweats they had given her at STAR Labs, Caitlin took her straight to Jitters, where Iris was on shift.

“Iris!” Carrie was through the door and she could hear Iris shouting: “Care-bear!”

She was so relieved to see her sister again she didn’t think to chastise her for that childhood nickname. The two women embraced, crying in each other’s shoulders and babbling.

“Why didn’t they call—”

“—I just woke up—-”

“—I was so scared, I saw you die, your heart stopped beating so many times—-”

“Its fine, I’m fine. Its beating great. Fast, but great,” Carrie sniffled, trying to stay positive and reassuring to her equally weepy sister.

“Should you really be on your feet?” Iris demanded.

“I’m okay, I promise. The doctor at STAR Labs is going to run more tests, just to be on the safe side,” she promised and turned, gesturing to where Caitlin stood behind them awkwardly. “Iris, this is Dr Caitlin Snow….she helped save my life.”

“Oh thank you, thank you—” Iris swooped in on the doctor, hugging her despite the fact they were strangers. She abruptly straightened and looked back to Carrie. “Have you called Dad yet?”

“No, I came here first – it was closer,” she explained.

Approaching the trio was a waitress with a tray of food; at the same time, a man was tossing a set of keys to his friend….

…and time seemed to slow down for Carrie as the keys soared through the air past her head and the waitress tripped.

And then everything moved like normal again, the strange moment gone and the waitress’s tray hitting the ground. Words buzzed in her ears as she watched Iris help the waitress with the spill.

What…..was that?

Maybe she should still be resting…but she could rest, after she saw Joe. Then they could run all the tests they wanted at STAR Labs.

“Let me go get my stuff – Dad is going to be so relieved…”

And was he ever – the second Joe laid eyes on her, he had her picked up in a bear hug, spinning her around. “Don’t you ever scare me like that again! You had the whole department worried!”

“Quite the nap you took there, babyface,” one of the older officers teased as Joe let her down. “And you still look twelve!”

“You look okay,” Joe was inspecting her carefully. “…are you really?”

“I feel fine, but I did promise Dr Snow that I’d let them run a few more tests at STAR Labs just to be safe,” she reassured him and introduced him to Caitlin, who was standing by Iris.

“Detective West!” a Dispatcher approached them; her face was tight in concern. “We got a 5-50 in progress at Gold City Bank. Two are confirmed dead. And that storm’s picking up on the south side, so grab your rain gear.”

“I’m sorry, I have to run. Thank you for helping take care of Carrie. And you let me know the results as soon as you can, alright?” Joe said as he finished shaking hands with Caitlin.

Carrie felt guilty – she should be helping… “Do you want me to come along? I can grab my kit….”

“No, you take it easy. Let them run their tests, alright?” he scolded her. “There will be plenty of work for you to do later so just take it easy for now.”

Joe called over his shoulder to the bullpin, “Lets go, partner.”

Detective ‘Pretty Boy’ approached, pulling his jacket on. He smiled at Iris in a way that made Carrie’s eyebrows rise up. The younger detective dragged his eyes away from Iris to Carrie.

“Allen! Good to see you up and about.”

“Thanks, Eddie.”

The quick by-play between Iris and Eddie though….felt flirtatious? Oh now that was interesting….

Eddie patted her lightly on her shoulder as he stepped away from Iris. “Glad you’re back. Joe was worried as hell.”

She watched him go and that was when she saw it…the memorial for Detective Chyre, the partner she remembered Joe having. “…Iris….?”

“The night of the explosion, Clyde Mardon shot and killed Chyre. But…Mardon and his brother died in a plane crash trying to escape,” her sister explained.

“Iris, got a minute?” one of the officers called to Iris. As she walked over to him, one of the other officers was booking a suspect. He nodded to Carrie as he caught her eye.

“Hey, Carrie. Good to see you back.”

She was smiling and about to respond when it happened again – time slowed and the prisoner was reaching for the gun of one of the officers. Panic set in for the young scientist and before she could truly think, her body was moving, blurring forward and causing wind to whip up, slamming the suspect away from the sidearm and was back where she had been standing.

….no one reacted. Said anything. It was like…she must have moved so fast she hadn’t been seen….? She was trembling as the suspect started screaming at the officers who now struggled to restrain him.

Iris and Caitlin both took not of her pale face.

“Are you alright?” Iris demanded.

“Y-yeah…I think so. I think I might need a little rest…”

“You can rest back at STAR Labs. We can run a couple blood tests, just to be on the safe side,” Caitlin reminded her.

“…alright,” Carrie sighed and smiled at Iris. “I’ll call you tonight.”

“Okay. You get some rest. And if you have to, make her,” Iris instructed Caitlin. “Don’t let her niceness fool you, she can be stubborn and hardheaded when she wants to be.”

 

—-

 

It was when they were outside, she risked a glance at her hand – it felt so strange and—it was vibrating at a high rate of speed?! The noise she made must have alarmed Caitlin.

“Carrie?”

“I….I….” She shivered and blurred forward again, running into the side of a dumpster.

“Carrie!”

“Caitlin, I—” She blurred again, this time running into the back of a squad car with enough force to shatter the back windshield. She looked at Caitlin, terrified. “Stay back, I might accidentally hurt you!”

Oh God, what if she hurt her? She had helped save her life—

And like that, she was off like a shot, blurring away from Caitlin.

Everything was a blur around her and in her running…the fear began to melt away into a mixture of confusion and excitement. This was….

This was….

….it was actually kinda fun!

Of course then she realized she didn’t know how to stop. And there was an open van ahead of her. She yelped as she tried to apply 'brakes’ and was sent flying head first into the back of the van. Thankfully, it was full of bags of laundry.

She blinked stupidly at the confused man who pulled the bags that fell on her away. Embarrassed she moved again in a blur, hoping he didn’t get a good look at her face. When she stopped again she found herself where she had started her day – STAR Labs.


	5. Chapter 5

“You don't think she can actually reach the speed you predicted do you? I mean...what I saw, she was moving fast but---” Caitlin was a skeptic and she had seen Carrie moving at an inhuman rate of speed...but certainly Dr Wells' calculations....

“I believe anything is possible and in a few moments...” Dr Wells smiled a bit. “Maybe you will too....”

“How's it fit?” Cisco called into the trailer where Carrie was changing.

“Its snug,” she replied, blushing terribly as she very reluctantly left the trailer. She felt so stupid in this getup.... “Very snug.”

“At least you'll be moving so fast no one will see you?”

She took the comment as she had hoped it was meant – to cheer her up. It didn't work that much though.

“See, you thought the world around you was slowing down. But it wasn't! You were just moving so fast that everything looked like it was standing still,” Cisco explained and nodded over to where Dr Wells and Caitlin were. “Dr Wells is going to monitor your energy output, while Caitlin will monitor you vitals...”

“...and what do you do?” she asked in curiosity and he grinned at her.

“Me? I make all the toys!” he told her and held up a circular piece of equipment with what looked like a gold lightning bolt on it. “Check it – this is a two-way headset with a camera I've modified. Now these typically are designed to combat battlefield impulse noise, or in your case? Potential sonic booms. Which would be awesome.”

She removed the helmet and goggles, feeling beyond ridiculous as Caitlin approached her. As the doctor was working on the sensors on her chest, Carrie looked at her inquisitively.

“What?”

“Nothing...” she blushed hotly. “Its just....it seems you don't smile a lot...”

Caitlin pushed her hair back with a sigh. “My once promising career in bio engineering is over and my boss--” Carrie's eyes slid over to where Dr Wells was working at his computer before jerking back to Caitlin. “--is a wheelchair for life. And my fiancee died in the explosion that put you in a coma. So this blank expression of mine feels like the way to go.”

She began to turn away and Carrie reached out, tentatively touching the older woman's wrist. “I'm sorry. If you ever want to talk...”

“...its alright.” Caitlin headed back toward Dr Wells and Carrie felt miserable for letting herself wallow in her own self-pity.

“Ms Allen,” Dr Wells' voice had her head jerking back up and she looked at him. “While I am extremely eager to determine your full range of abilities, I do caution restraint,”

“Y-yes, Dr Wells...” she stammered, pulling the goggles back on.

She approached the racer's starting...thing while strapping the helmet back into place. She wasn't an athlete, so the proper terms escaped her. Carefully she set herself, just like she'd seen the Olympic athletes do on television. Carrie felt so ridiculous – her big butt was probably sticking in the air---

Glancing back over her shoulder, she could see Cisco working on his tablet and Dr Wells sliding on a pair of sunglasses. His lips were quirked up in that slight smile of his. Her heart started to race and she wasn't even running yet....

Taking a calming breath, Carrie turned her attention back in front of her. Please God don't let her fall on her face----

I can do this, I can do this--- and she was off, the energy she let loose as she took off knocking Cisco over and sending loose paperwork flying. For the three behind her all they could see of her was a crimson blur.

And she? She was the wind. She was moving so fast she didn't think her feet was touching the ground.

And it felt so good.

So liberating.

Nothing could touch her now.

She allowed herself a whoop of glee that was lost in the wind.

“She just passed two-hundred knots an hour!”

“That's not possible!” Caitlin whispered, lowering her binoculars.

Their attention was so focused on the blur racing on the abandoned airstrip they didn't see the way Dr Wells's smile deepened, nor the glint in his blue eyes.

Carrie was still running, still one with the wind when she could see a flash before her eyes. Could hear her mother screaming her name and hear the echo of her own childish voice screaming for her mother. In her mind's eye she could see that night, the red and gold lightning as it swirled around her mother's form.

Could hear the windows shattering.

Could see, in that lightning...the form of a man in yellow, surrounded by red lightning.

And then she was aware again and could see the barrels of water set up as a stop-break and she tried to stop herself before hitting them...but slammed into them anyway. She laid there, soaking wet and shivering in pain, clutching her broken wrist to her body.

What was that? Was that...what had happened that night?


	6. Chapter 6

“It looks like you had a distal radios fracture,” Caitlin told her, showing her the x-rays on the tablet.

“....had.....?” she looked between the tablet and doctor, uncertainly.

“Its healed,” she explained, swiping back between two x-rays – the broken...and the healed. “In three hours.”

“How is that even possible?”

“We...don't know.” Caitlin paused before adding: “Yet.”

“You really need to learn how to stop,” Cisco told her as he walked by, holding up her damaged helmet.

She sheepishly rubbed at her once broken wrist as Dr Wells wheeled up to her. “What happened out there? You were moving pretty well and then something caused you to lose focus.”

Carrie blushed hotly as she shifted on the cot, tucking her legs beneath her. At least she wasn't in that ridiculous skintight red tracksuit...

“I...I think I started to remember something...” she started hesitantly and Dr Wells arched his brows at her inquisitively over his glasses. Swallowing heavily she continued, “When I was eleven, my mother was murdered.”

She couldn't see them but she could suddenly feel Caitlin and Cisco looking at her. Embarrassed, she closed her eyes and gnawed on her lower lip, gathering up her resolve again. She fidgeted and made herself speak.

“It was late and I woke up to a noise. When I came down stairs I saw what looked like a ball of lightning, racing around my mother.” She opened her eyes as she spoke and saw as Dr Wells took off his glasses and looked at her intently; suddenly it felt like it was just the two of them there in that room, and she opened up more. “But inside that lightning....there was a man. He killed my mother.” Slowly Dr Wells slid his glasses back on, and it was like a barrier was between them again. She continued anyway. “But the police, they arrested my father and he's sitting in Iron Heights to this day. Everyone – the cops, the shrink – they told me what I saw was impossible. But now...I wonder...what if that man was like me, somehow?”

“Well I think I can say unequivocally you are one of a kind, Ms Allen.” Dr Wells told her.

Her shoulders hunched a bit and she exhaled, nodding. Perhaps she was...

\----

It felt good to get out of STAR Labs. Back into the real world, where she could go to Jitters and hang out with her sister....

...who was kissing Detective Pretty Boy.

So they were flirting!

She watched in amusement as they parted and the look of panic on Iris and Eddie's faces. With a nod of her head, she led Iris away fro a walk and talk.

“So...I take it your Dad doesn't know?”

“No and you can't tell him,” Iris pleaded.

“I don't see how keeping this a secret from him will be a good thing. How'd you two start dating anyway?”

“Well, when you were in the hospital, Eddie covered Dad's shifts so we both be sitting with you. I thanked him with a cup of coffee and things well...”

“Went from there?”

“Yeah. And its....good.” Iris grinned, somewhat goofy and she was blushing a bit.

“I just hope this isn't against any regulations,” Carrie sighed and gave Iris a reproachful look; faintly in the distance she could register the sounds of police sirens. “And you should totally not be hiding this from your Dad... Not telling him – and asking me not to tell him – is all sorts of hinky.”

The sirens were closer and she saw the car chase barreling down on them. Time seems to slow as she grabbed Iris and yanked her out of the way as one of the squad cars lost control on the slick roads, spinning into a concrete wall. As she looked up, she could see the fleeing vehicle drive on.

Its window was rolled down and she could see the driver....

“Mardon?!” she whispered in disbelief. But he was dead!

As Iris was pushing herself back to her feet, Carrie was racing off after him in a blur. This couldn't be possible, he was dead, so was his brother---

\--she was weaving in and out of traffic, a blur after the speeding car being driven by a dead man. On impulse, she slammed into the passenger side door, ending up in the passenger seat beside the surprised but living Mardon.

He reacted quickly but to her, he was reaching for the gun in slow motion. Reaching out, she grabbed the wheel and yanked on it hard, taking them out of traffic and flipping through the air.

The car landed on the roof, crinkling into the driver's side more than the passenger. There was an ungodly screeching mingled with blaring car horns as the vehicle skidded over the pavement and to a halt. The glass was raining down as it did stop and she was hissing in pain as she crawled out of the wreckage...

...and saw Mardon was walking away. Not even really limping.

“Mardon!” She screamed after him, forcing herself back on her feet.

He turned and looked at her, his face curled in a snarl of contempt. And then he stopped, spreading his arms out faintly...and fog seemed to emanate from his body, shrouding around him and spreading all over the highway.

It was so thick and soupy...visibility was gone in almost an instant. Faintly she could see it engulf him fully.

And then he was gone.

The honking of a horn had her jerk her attention back to the wreckage behind her. Due to the fog, a car hadn't seen it until it was too late and as she lunged to the side to avoid it, it barreled into the wreckage, sending it airborne and spinning...landing on its roof, fire trailing behind it as it skidded down the pavement.

“Oh God...” Carrie whimpered.


	7. Chapter 7

She watched as they wheeled the black body bag from the scene. The flashing lights of the ambulance and fire and rescue trucks bounced off the wrecked cars and wet pavement in a disorienting array.

“That poor man....” Iris murmured.

Carrie's shoulders hunched. It was her fault...she shouldn't have made Mardon wreck....

“The way that fog came in like that...I have never seen anything like that!”

“Me neither,” Carrie mumbled, hugging herself.

“Carrie! Iris!” And like that Joe was there, barreling up onto the two.

“I'm alright, Dad.”

“What the hell were you thinking, having her out here?” Joe scolded Carrie; she shrank back a bit in surprise.

“I...”

“Dad, we were walking and talking, catching up!” Iris protested.

He rounded on her. “And I have told you, you see danger, you run the other way. You are not a cop!”

“Because you wouldn't let me!” Iris snapped back.

She'd have made an excellent cop, if Joe had let her. Carrie was certain of that. But that was an old argument. And Joe had to know...

“Joe? I need to talk to you,” Carrie interjected.

“It can wait---”

“No. It can't.” She straightened her back, squaring her shoulders before walking away. Please let him follow---

He did. She gave an internal sigh of relief.

“I saw who did this.”

He reeled back in surprise. “Think you can give us a sketch?”

“I don't need to. Joe...it was Clyde Mardon.”

“What?”

“I know, I know it sounds crazy and everyone thinks he died in a plane crash after the explosion at STAR Labs, but I saw him in the driver's seat as he was driving away from the scene!” she could tell he wasn't believing her, but maybe if she tried--- “And...I think something happened to him that night. Something...something that lets him control the weather. All the recent robberies, they happened during freak meteorological events and when I confronted him, the entire street was enveloped in that thick fog---”

The look on his face made her heart hurt. 

“---and you don't believe me,” she finished her voice going soft and posture defeated. “You never do.”

“Okay, you want to do this? Out here?” Joe asked in aggravation. “Fine. Mardon is dead, Carrie. And there is no controlling the weather. Just like there was no lightning storm in your house that night. What you saw was the brain of a scared, traumatized little girl trying to make sense of witnessing her father kill her mother.”

“My Dad didn't murder--” she tried to interject, her voice wavering.

“Yes, he did!” He interrupted her, speaking over her. “He did – and I am sorry. I knew it, the jury knew it, and now he's paying for what he did. And you have to accept that, Carrie.”

“Dad, enough!” Iris cried out. Couldn't he see he was destroying her sister?!

“No, Iris.” Joe shook his head and Carrie was wilting back into herself, turning away as he turned back to continue. “I have done my best to take care of you since that night, Carrie. I didn't ever ask anything in return. Not a thank you, nothing. But what I am asking now is this: That you for once, see things in your life as they are.”  
She could feel her insides quivering. Carrie walked away, fighting the urge to break into that blurring run. She ducked under the crime scene tape, blinking back tears. She thought she heard Iris calling for her but she couldn't look back now.

It was a mistake. At least she didn't tell Joe what she could do know – he'd have tried to lock her up in the crazy house. Maybe there was someone else she could talk to...someone who knew what she had become.

\--

The doors slid open, catching the attention of the trio as Carrie entered. She was pale, her eyes reddened and there was a faint tremble in her body as she stopped, looking at the man in the wheelchair.

“I wasn't the only one affected by the explosion that night, was I?” she asked Dr Wells, who took a sharp breath and exchanged a look with Caitlin.

“We don't know for sure.” He admitted.

“You...you said the city was safe, that there was no residual danger. But...that's not true is it? What really happened?”

“Well...” Dr Wells looked to Caitlin and Cisco again, both of whom looked away. “The accelerator went active, we all felt like heroes...and then it went wrong.” Dr Wells was jabbing at the tablet on his wheelchair, bringing up a display on one of the room's many screens for Carrie to see. “When the explosion happened, a dimensional barrier ruptured, unleashing unknown energies into our world – dark matter, anti-matter, X-elements--”

“Those are all theoretical!” she interrupted, whirling back to look at him, her eyes wild and face flushed.

He looked at her with those piercing eyes and her mouth snapped shut as she trembled. She'd just back-talked her idol. The man she adored. 

“And how theoretical are you, Ms Allen?” he asked in a silky, almost dangerous tone that made her blush hotly and her hands clench to hide the shaking. “We've mapped dispersion throughout and around Central City, but we have no way of knowing who or what was exposed. We've been searching for other Meta-humans, like yourself.”

“Meta-humans...?” she whispered.

“That's what we're calling them,” Caitlin informed her.

“I saw one today,” she said softly, gaining the three's undivided attention. “He's a bank robber and...he can control the weather.”

“This just keeps getting cooler!” Cisco just about trembled in excitement.

“This isn't cool! A man died today!” She snapped in anger, practically vibrating and giving off sparks of golden lightning; her attention turned from Cisco to Dr Wells, the anger abiding...only a little. “Mardon must have gotten his powers the same way I did – from that storm cloud. He's still out there and we have to stop him before he hurts anyone else.”

She turned away, about to storm out the door. If she had to, she'd do it alone. Without Joe, without them!

“Carrie.” Dr Wells' voice made her halt instantly. He called her by name again. “This...is a job for the police.”

Her shoulders slumped and she turned back to regard him tiredly. “I work for the police.”

“As a forensic assistant,” he reminded her.

Her back teeth ground together. “You are responsible for this. For him.”

“What's important is you!” He snapped, bristling in anger. “Not me. I lost everything. My company. My reputation. My freedom!” His fist clenched, banging on the arm of his wheelchair. “And then you broke your arm and it healed in three hours. Inside your body could be a map to a whole new world of genetic therapy, vaccines, treasures, Carrie. All that resides deep within your cells and we cannot risk losing that because you want to go off and play hero!” 

She trembled as he took a breath and continued. “You're not a hero – you are a girl that got struck by lightning.”

Cisco and Caitlin wouldn't meet her eyes and she turned away, walking out the door she had entered. 

She'd have to figure out how to do this alone then.


	8. Chapter 8

As she ran, she remembered. 

Remembered being a little girl running up to her house, her father being dragged away in handcuffs. Her father telling her to stay out of the house as she demanded to know where they were taking him.

She remembered slipping inside anyway. Of Joe's voice rumbling as she made her way to the covered body of her mother. Of pulling the material back and calling for her mother....

...of Joe pulling her away from her mother's side.

She came to a skidding halt outside the sign announcing Starling City in five miles. Her jacket was sparking, catching fire and she pulled it off hurriedly.

There was only one person that could possibly help her. She just had to find him and tell him everything.

And when she found him off that roof top...she did. Everything. The coma, the speed, her stupid crush, the argument with Joe...

“So why come to me?” the Arrow asked her, turning to look at her fully. “Something tells me you didn't run six-hundred miles just to vent to a friend.”

“...all my life....I have wanted to do more. Be more. And now that I am, I screw it up...I always screw it up...and a guy died because of that. I was trying so hard to stop Mardon and that poor man... What if Wells is right? What if I'm not a hero...and I'm just some girl struck by lightning...?”

“I don't think that bolt of lightning struck you, Carrie,” he told her. “I think it chose you.”

“I'm not like you, Oliver,” she whispered. “I'm not cut out to be a...a vigilante.”

“No,” he agreed. “Not a vigilante. Something better. Because you, Carrie Allen, can inspire people, in a way I never could.” he hooked a reassuring finger under her chin, making her look up and meet his eyes. “Watching over your city like a guardian angel, making a difference by saving people...in a flash. Take the advice you gave me – wear a mask.”

….oh if Felicity wasn't in love with him...she'd kiss him, part of Carrie thought.

“I'm...not much a fighter. Do...you think you could teach me a few things?” she asked hopefully and he gave her a rare grin that made her heart skip a beat.

“All you had to do was ask.”

\----

She didn't think she'd come back, but part of her felt she had to try. Had to show them what she had found. The maps and cold case files were spread out over the massive table.

“I've been going over unsolved cases from the past nine months and there's been a sharp increase in unexplained deaths and missing persons.,” she explained, her voice soft. “While I do not blame you, the meta-humans created by the explosion have been very busy. I know that none of you meant for this to happen and you all have lost something. But I need your help to catch Mardon and anyone else out there like him who is using these abilities to harm innocent people. But I cannot do this without you.”

Okay, maybe she could but it'd be so much more difficult... She nibbled on her lower lip, watching Caitlin and Cisco exchange glances before Cisco locked eyes with her.

“If we're going to do this, I have something that might help...”

He lead them to a storage room, where he turned around a table with a manikin wearing a dark red suit. “This is something I've been playing with. Its a prototype to replace the traditional turnouts that firefighters wear. I had thought....that if STAR labs did something to help out the community maybe everyone wouldn't be so mad at Dr Wells anymore...”

“Okay...so how will this help me?” she asked in confusion.

“This suit is made with a reinforced tri-polymer – its heat and abrasive resistant, so it should stand your moving at high-velocity speed. And the aerodynamic design should help you maintain control. Plus...it has built in sensors, so we can keep track of your vitals while providing you help from here.”

“Thank you,” she whispered in awe before mentally shaking herself. “Okay. So now we need to figure out how to find Mardon....”

“I just re-tasked the satellites STAR Labs has in orbit to trace meteorological abnormalities over Central City...” Caitlin told her as she approached, with a tablet. Cisco and Carrie scurried over to peer over the doctor's shoulders. “And we just got a ping. Atmospheric pressure just dropped twenty millibars in a matter of seconds. I've tracked it to a farm just west of the city.”

As she spoke, Carrie's eyes lifted from the tablet and to that red suit of Cisco's, slowly approaching it.

\---

The tornado was getting bigger, the winds picking up as she approached. She could see Joe's car and beside it was Joe and Eddie. Eddie looked unconscious...hopefully. Please don't let him be dead...

A piece of debris was flying towards them and she reacted out of instinct, going as fast as she could and launching herself at it. Her impact sent her and the debris flying away before it could harm them and she and the price of roof landed feet away. The roof was partially on top of her and she pushed it off, climbing back to her feet. Carefully she readjusted the suit's respirator before ripping it off in frustration.

“Carrie?” Cisco's voice came over the earpiece. “Carrie! Wind speeds are two-hundred miles per hour and increasing. Carrie, can you hear me?”

“Yes, loud and clear.”

“If this keep up it can become and F5 tornado...” Cisco cautioned.

“Its headed towards the city! How do I stop it?!” She watched in frustration at the tower of twisting wind and debris. “...what if I unravel it?”

“How the hell are you going to do that?!” Caitlin demanded.

“I'll...I'll run in its opposing direction, cut its legs off.”

“She'd have to clock seven-hundred miles per hour to do that!” she heard Cisco telling Caitlin.

“Your body might not be able to handle those speeds – you'll die!” 

She gritted her teeth; she could see Joe from the corner of her eye. “I have to try.”

With that she was gone in a blur of red wreathed in golden lightning, racing towards the tornado. Immediately she swerved, circling it in the opposing direction of the tornado's swirling winds.

Faintly she could hear the voices of Cisco and Caitlin through her concentration.

“The suit's holding up!”

“But she's not!”

“She can do it – I know she can do it!”

Cisco's words gave her a boost of confidence but she could see him....see Mardon...in the tornado's eye. And he was watching her, watching her race around his monster trying to unravel it. Mardon lashed out with a hand and lightning flashed, striking her and knocking her off the path she had started.

She skidded across the ground, crying out in pain before coming to a halt. 

“He's too strong!” she cried out. 

Of course she'd screw up again----!

“You can do this, Carrie.” It was not a voice she had expected and a shiver went down her spine as Dr Wells said her name. “You were right. I am responsible for all of this. So many people have been hurt, because of me. And when I looked at you....all I saw was a potential victim of my hubris. And yes, Carrie...I did create this madness, but you...you can stop it. You can do this. Now run! Carrie, run!”

She flung herself forward at that command, a blur of red and gold, cutting a swath to the tornado once more. Once more circling the tornado, she poured everything she could into her speed. All the pent up anger and frustration she'd had since waking, of being talked down to by Joe and Dr Wells...everything.

And she moved faster than she had before. The winds ripped at her and she could hear Mardon's scream of outrage as after what felt like eons....the tornado collapsed in on itself and the winds subsided.

“Carrie?” Caitlin called out.

She was on her knees panting for breath; she could feel the breeze whipping through her hair and on her face. Carrie knew that her mask was down and immediately she fumbled for it.

“Hey!” The yell was Mardon and she spun around. He was walking towards her, a gun in hand. He lifted it, leveling it at her chest. “I didn't think there was anyone else like me.”

“No...” she panted, shaking her head. “I'm not like you. I'm not a murderer.”

He was about to fire when shots rang out and it was Mardon that fell. She jerked around to see the figure of Joe skidding down an embankment.

“Carrie!” Caitlin's call was insistent.

“...its alright. I'm fine. Its over,” Carrie sighed as she staggered back to her feet. Well, attempted to. She fell back to the ground, her legs like limp noodles as Joe approached.

She braced herself even as he fell to his knees before where she sat. Peeking at him from beneath her eyelashes, she remain as taunt as a bow-string, ready to try running once more.

...he almost looked ready to cry as he stared at her...


	9. Chapter 9

It was daylight when he spoke to her. The scene was being cleared and she had changed out of the suit and back into her own clothing.

“What you can do...it was the lightning bolt?”

“....more or less,” she murmured.

“I'm sorry, Carrie,” he said; they were words she had never really expected to hear. Not from him, or anyone. “I'm sorry I didn't believe you. That I called you crazy for chasing the impossible...”

He looked at her. “...but you really did see something that night, when your mom died...”

She nodded.

“Your dad...he is innocent...”

There was a relief, as weight slid off her lean body. That was all she had ever wanted to hear him say.... She looked up when he straightened, shifting to stand in front of her. His hand rested on her shoulder.

“Listen to me...you have to make me a promise. I don't want you telling Iris about this....about anything you can do. Any of it. I want her safe. One of you has to be safe. Promise me.”

...she hated to lie, to him...or to her....but.... “Alright.”

\---

She hated Iron Heights. Hated it fiercely...but at least she had a moment to visit with her father....even though they had to talk over these phones, see each other through that glass...

“Hey, Princess.”

“You always call me that....” she murmured and he chuckled. “...I got into a fight today.”

“You got out of a coma, I don't think you should be picking fights,” Henry said in concern, peering at her through the glass. “...did you win?”

She smiled. “Yeah.”

There was a pause as he grinned at her before she continued. “...I know you didn't kill Mom. You know I know that, right?”

“You believing me is all I need, princess.”

“You won't be here much longer,” she promised. “Whoever...whatever...killed Mom...I think I have a way to find them, to stop them.”

“Carrie, we've talked about this. You've got to stop worrying, live your life – find a nice man and start a family---”

He stopped in concern when she gave a choked sob.

“I might not be....able to...have kids. The lightning strike....they are still doing tests but...”

“Princess....” He pressed a hand to the glass and she gave him a shaky smile as she pressed a hand to the glass opposing his.

“I'm not giving up. I...I actually feel alive. For so long I feel like I've been stuck in one place since Mom died...but now...I'm different now. I've made some new friends. And they're helping me find my way...to finally move forward... Remember when you wanted me to change my name? Take Mom's name so people wouldn't know you're my Dad? But I'm so proud to be your daughter.”

“I love you, baby girl.”

“Love you too, Dad.”

\----

She hadn't lied to her father – she did feel alive at last. Like that lightning bolt made her heart start to really beat, made everything so sharp and clear.

Even with the possibility that she couldn't have children of her own...well the tests weren't finished yet and who knows. That would be something to worry about later.

Because she was the fastest person alive. And she had so much to do. 

Like save this bike messenger who just got hit by a taxi from being dragged under like his bike.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find a larger versions fo my art of Carrie my deviantArt :) http://zpansven.deviantart.com or my art tumblr http://zpansvenart.tumblr.com/


End file.
